A donor conference in London, which aimed to get world leaders to dig into their pockets and pledge financial support for Syria, raised $10 billion on Thursday, according to British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This is the most that has ever been pledged in one day for a humanitarian crisis.

"We are facing a critical shortfall in life-saving aid that is fatally holding back the humanitarian effort," Cameron said as he kicked off the event. "And after years of conflict, we are witnessing a desperate movement of humanity as hundreds of thousands of Syrians fear they have no alternative than to put their lives in the hands of evil people smugglers in the search for a future."

Cameron co-hosted the daylong Supporting Syria conference, attended by 70 countries. It comes as peace talks in the country have stalled and international communities have grappled with ongoing aid needs.

But while leaders were congratulating themselves for a job well done, aid groups were quick to point out at the donations are just one step in a long road to relief for the Syrian people.

"The challenge for all of us now is to make sure that the pledges are turned into action in a way that relieves the suffering of the Syrian people," David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, said. "The major and welcome commitments made at this conference will only be meaningful to the Syrian people, whether inside Syria or in neighbouring countries, if the pledges are turned into action.”

Oxfam reports that western countries had only paid out half of the pledged support in three previous humanitarian disasters.

Why this is such a big deal

The Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011, has killed at least 250,000 people, displaced 11 million and given an opening for the Islamic State group to seize large parts of the country from forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. It has also triggered an international refugee crisis that has spilled over to other Middle Eastern countries, Europe and beyond.

For his part, Cameron said the UK, which had previously pledged more than $1.6 billion in aid, would double the donations to international aid groups working with Syrians between 2016 and 2020. The latest round of fundraising exceeds the $9 billion aid requirement for 2016 presented before the conference.

More than $10bn has been pledged at today’s Syria conference - the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis.

A video posted by United Nations (@unitednations) on Feb 4, 2016 at 5:47am PST

Despite the fundraising progress, the Syrian conflict is far from resolved. U.N.-facilitated peace talks that began this week have been postponed for three weeks, and U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday there would be a "temporary pause" in the indirect peace talks between the government and opposition. The process will resume Feb. 25 at the latest.

The delay reflects the rocky start of the talks Monday, when neither the government nor the opposition even acknowledged the negotiations had officially begun.

"It is not the end, and it is not the failure of the talks," de Mistura told reporters after a meeting with opposition leaders.

Syrians directly affected by the crisis were skeptical that the donations would make a difference for them. In an open letterreleased through the activist groups The Syria Campaign, several activists based in the country said the money raised in London is "unlikely to reach us or alleviate the suffering in our besieged areas."

"As Syrian activists and humanitarians working in the besieged areas of Syria, we are witnessing a first-hand catastrophe that includes starvation, injury and death due to blockades and bombardment. We are doing the best we can to keep people alive with the little resources that we have, but we simply do not have the food, medicine or medical equipment to sustain our communities," read the letter. "The UN, and its partners, have not been able to deliver the aid that we need. The UN humanitarian organisations have not been seen in our towns for months, sometimes even years. Nineteen more people have died of starvation in Madaya since the last UN convoys pulled out of the town on the 16th of January. It is an undeniable tragedy that the billions of dollars in aid you pledge today is not going to reach those that need it the most."

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